Wintershall Dea exits Gulf of Suez oil concession

Wintershall Dea is now an ex-oil producer in Egypt: Wintershall Dea divested its stake in its Gulf of Suez oil concession to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) on 1 January, it said in a statement Thursday. The German oil and gas company operated the concession as part of a 50/50 joint venture with the state-owned company for almost 40 years. The transfer leaves EGPC as the sole owner of the concession. The statement did not put a figure on the value of the transaction.

Pivot to gas: The decision to divest from the concession coincides with Wintershall’s move to focus on natural gas, which now accounts for the majority of its global portfolio. The company has a 17% interest in BP’s large West Nile Delta gas project and operates the onshore Disouq gas concession as part of a 50/50 JV with EGPC.